Mayor Emanuel fetes a special group of CEOs

Of all the grand events Mayor Rahm Emanuel has attended in recent weeks, he was most excited about a quiet party he threw at the Chicago Cultural Center earlier this month.

There, he invited some of the most important CEOs connected to his education plan — school principals.

“We can't do what we do in the city without all of you principals. This is a chance to take a break and for us to say thank you for doing what you do. You're the CEO of your schools, you're the leader of your staff, your students and your school,” he told the group of more than 100 elementary and high school principals from top-performing schools. “I'm so proud of Chicago's schools and all the talent and greatness in this room. Don't stop innovating and don't stop challenging our children to achieve great things.”

The mayor, who spent much of the event talking one-on-one to his guests, wants to make the party an annual affair. An invitation to the soiree likely will depend on a school's success rates. “Let's hope next year's party is bigger,” he told the crowd.

School principals who don't often get feted with hors d'oeuvres and ceremonial speeches were pleased by the gesture.

“It was nice being in that kind of environment,” Senn High School Principal Susan Lofton said after the event. “It was good conversation and nice food."

Other attendees included Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO of Chicago Public Schools and Andrea Zopp, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League and a member of the Chicago Board of Education.